a day, eat salmon, which is high in omega-3
fatty acid, a powerful antioxidant.
After three days I'm not sure how much
more salmon I can eat, and I understand why
some people tell Perricone that they'd rather
smear the salmon on their face than continue
with his program. But I feel great, and my face
looks firmer and more alive, with better color.
Having seen the effects of aging arrested by
diet, injection, and surgery, I decide that my
next stop will be a nursing home, where I can
investigate the results of aging allowed to take
its natural course. I'm thinking mostly about
wrinkles, but a phone call from my sister
brings me back to where the life cycle of skin
begins-the sense of touch.
Our mother, who is 86 years old and in poor
health, has collapsed. When I walk into her
hospital room, I lay my cheek on hers and lift
her fingers into the palm of my hand. Although
one of her eyes is partly open, the doctor says
that she may not be able to see or hear me.
I try to comfort her by talking, singing songs
from my childhood, or just sitting quietly.
I'm not sure what she can sense, but her skin
feels warm and normal. I keep my fingers on
her arm or cheek, anything to let her know that
she is not alone and that she is loved. I realize
that our only unbroken connection now is
through touch. We are skin to skin, warmth to
warmth. According to the textbooks, transduc
tion within the skin is transforming physical
energy to neural energy. But something far
more important is occurring. Love and mem
ory are flowing through my skin and into
her dreams.
Americans spend over 300 million dollars annually
on injection of botulinum toxin-produced during
World War IIby the U.S. biological weapons program.